The Joy of Motherhood part 1
by Bryce-daniel2009
Summary: Ash and his friends hear about a Pokemon Center that may be mistreating its patrons, and is she connected to one of our heroes pasts?
1. Chapter 1

The Joy of Motherhood

By Bryce Daniels

Our heroes are walking through the forest when they come upon a young trainer trying to nurse his injured Lotad back to health.

"This looks serious," Brock said gravely. "We need to get it to a Pokemon Center quickly."

"Who do you think send me out here," the boy asked.

"This doesn't sound right," Brock said. "I say we start from the beginning, Tell us what happened."

"Well, we had a battle and Lotad got injured – like it is now – so we took it to the Pokemon Center up the road. But when I finally got her attention, she said 'if it was that weak, you should get rid of it and catch something stronger.'"

"That definitely doesn't sound like Nurse Joy," Dawn said.

"I didn't say it was."

"So who was it?" Ash asked.

"She had a uniform, but she wasn't wearing a name tag or her hat for that matter."

"That certainly sounds odd," Brock said. "I say we investigate this further."

"RIGHT," Ash and Dawn said together.

It didn't take long to find other trainers caring for their sick pokemon along the side of the road.

"This is TERRIBLE," Dawn said. "How could someone be this heartless to suffering?"

"It's behind 'heartless,'" Brock said. "This is deliberate CREULTY - AND I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT!"

In fact, they could hear the Pokemon Center long before they could see it, but they were still shocked by the rude behavior of the dark haired woman behind the counter. She had her back turned towards the TV, and was intentionally ignoring pleas of trainers. Not only that, but her hat and wig were on the counter almost hiding the open bottle of Scotch underneath them, her half empty pack of cigarettes however lay out for all to see.

"For the last time," she said irritably. "I'm ON BREAK!"|

"You've been on break for the past 3 ½ hours!" a young girl protested.

"And I'll continue to be until I get my full 60 minutes in."

She then turns around and fumbles around the counter looking for an ashtray.

"DAMNIT," she shouted. "WHAT DID YOU MISERIBLE CRETINS DO WITH MY ASHTRAY?"

"Pokemon Centers are 'smoke free,'" one of the young trainers said pointing to a sign behind the attendant.

"That's for YOU, not for ME."

"That doesn't sound fair," Dawn said incredulously.

"It's NOT," Brock said.

Suddenly, a green tray popped up near the edge of the counter.

"See, I KNEW you kids would listen to reason," she said extinguishing her cigarette in the newly offered tray.

That's when it jumped up, and ran around the lobby shouting: "LOMBRE, LOMBRE!"

"Are you going to heal him or what," the Lombre's trainer demanded.

"Eh, it's a water type, use Rain Dance and be done with it."

"YOU CANNOT TREAT POKEMON LIKE THAT," Ash shouted.

"Go ahead," she said lighting another cigarette. "Fire me – I'm Union."

But before Ash could respond, the door opened behind him.

Paul entered and smacked his face into his palm. "Mom, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Mom," Ash and his friends said together.

"Well, well," the attendant said sarcastically. "If it isn't the Great Reginald himself come down from on high to mingle with us 'commoners.'"

"It's Paul."

"Eh," she shrugged. "All you damned kids look the same to me."

"WE WERE BORN TEN YEARS APART!"

"Pfft, a minor detail"

"Like the fact that you're not really a Nurse Joy."

"Don't talk to your mom like that! I worked my Huntail off putting you and Patrick-"

"Paul"

"Whatever, through Trainer's School"

"Wait," Dawn said. "Isn't Trainers School free?"

"And yet it's STILL overpriced! Look at all these pathetic trainers with their weak pokemon who have to run to Nurse Joy after every battle. GROW UP, if they can't win a simple battle for you, then find one that WILL! It's not rocket science."

"YOU'RE WRONG," Ash shouted. "Pokemon grow stronger through battling tough opponents, and it's through losses that pokemon and trainer learn to trust each other!"

"I don't need EITHER of you lecturing ME! Go upstairs and leave me the hell alone, you miserable good-for-nothing little jerks! Take that ugly little c- rag with you!"

Dawn goes to protest, but Brock stopped her. He then shuffles the rest of the group upstairs before she or Ash could get another word in.

"God, I need a drink," the attendant said reaching for the bottle under her nurse's wig.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Joy of Motherhood:** Part 2 of 3

Meanwhile on the other side of the forest, the "real" Nurse Joy is returning from her conference in a nearby city. Like Ash, she quickly encountered a trainer whose pokemon was injured.

"This looks serious," she said examining its leg. "We need to get you back to the Pokemon Center immediately."

"That's where I just came from," the young girl said. "The lady behind the counter told me to 'catch something stronger.'"

"That doesn't sound like the woman I hired."

"I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!"

"I'm not saying I doubt you, just that she came highly recommended by Galactic Nursing Academy."

As she continued walking she eventually came upon the boy with the now-burnt Lombre.

"How did this get in there?" Joy asked picking up the cigarette from its dish.

"The woman behind the counter thought my Lombre was her ashtray."

"But Pokemon Centers have a strict 'no smoking' policy."

"She said that's 'only for trainers, not for staff,'" the female trainer said.

"And when I asked if she would heal it for me," he added. "She told me 'it's a water type, use Rain Dance and be done with it.'"

Finally, Joy pulls her cell phone out of her pocket: "Jenny, it's Nurse Joy, I need you to meet me at the Pokemon Center on the north end of the forest right away. You'll see why when get here – if not before then."

The closer they got to the Pokemon Center, the more outraged Joy became.

"This is no way to treat pokemon," she seethed.

Paul took the first available room at the top of the steps and quickly shut the door behind him.

"Pikachu, go with them," Ash said. "I'll be over shortly."

"Go away!"

But Ash came in anyway.

"I said 'go away,'" Paul said his voice lacking its usual sternness.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said moving closer to his rival. "You need me and I never abandon a friend in need!"

"We're not 'friends;' we hate each other, remember?"

"Would you move," Dawn said from the other side of the door. "I want to listen too."

"None of you should be listening," Ash shouted. "This is a private conversation, and I'll be over when it's finished! Now go away, and leave us alone!"

He then turns back to Paul and says: "Would an 'enemy' do that for you?"

"…No," he said turning away from Ash. "….But Reggie would….He did a lot for me, actually," he admitted as he sat down on the edge bed. "He sacrificed his journey until he felt I was strong enough to start mine. When he did leave, he invited me along so he could keep an eye on me…"

"That's what brothers are for isn't it?"

"He gave me Turtwig so I would someone to protect me – the way he did. I can still see him stepping between me and mom's latest boyfriend as he was about to punch me for the sole crime of existing and thus sucking up their booze money."

"Wow, that's tough," Ash said sitting next to Paul. "That's why I wish I had a brother who would do that for me. Brock cared for his siblings while his parents went on their journey, but that was different…and more importantly, so are you."

"Yeah, thanks for noticing," Paul said with weak sarcasm.

"That's not what I mean," Ash said. "I mean you aren't the same person you were when you first left on your journey. You've grown, you've changed and, most importantly, you've become a better person while your mom has stayed the same, and there's nothing you or I or even Reggie can do about it.

"It's like those Starly you caught when we first met, they weren't doing anything for your party so you let them go. Sometimes, it's the only thing you CAN do for them…"

Ash offers his rival a hug, and was surprised when he not only accepted it, but buried his face in his shoulder.

"Good," Ash said patting him lightly on the back. "Let it out… Let it all out…"


	3. Chapter 3

**The Joy of Motherhood:** Part 3 of 3

Joy could hear her replacement reprimanding a trainer from outside the building. Finally, Jenny pulled up on her motorcycle surrounded by an army of angry trainers.

"I take it this is what you meant by 'if not before that.' If what these trainers say is accurate, then you were right to wait for me. There's no telling how she'd react when we got inside. I've already called for back-up, and they should arrive shortly."

They approach the door, and it opens automatically.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Joy shouted.

The attendant quickly put on her Nurse Joy wig and tried to hide her scotch and cigarettes under the counter…but it was too late, especially since she had no place to extinguish the cigarette already in her mouth.

"Hello," she said in the world's least convincing Nurse Joy voice. "And welcome to the Pokemon Center-"

"CAN IT, BITCH! I've already seen how you treat pokemon," she said motioning to the Lombre with the cigarette burn. "I GUARANTEE you this is NOT what they taught you in nursing school, and it sure as hell not going to fly here either!"

"And **I** can guarantee the JUDGE won't be too impressed either – especially when we show him that the DNA from this cigarette is a match for THIS one," Jenny said swiping the cigarette from the attendant's mouth and putting it in a plastic bag.

Meanwhile in the dorms, Ash finally enters the room where Dawn and Brock are staying.

"Your shoulder looks wet," Dawn said.

"It'll dry," he shrugged.

"Pika-chu," it said jumping onto Ash's _other_ shoulder.

"Glad to see you too, buddy."

"Hey, what's all that commotion downstairs?" Brock asked.

"Jenny and Joy are downstairs," Lotad's trainer said excitedly (he was popping into every room to share the news). "And they're arresting that mean lady at the counter."

"That sounds exciting doesn't it, Brock? Brock?"

"He was gone the second he heard the phrase 'Jenny and Joy,'" Ash said.

"Figures," Dawn sighed.

The two get to the bottom of the steps in time to see Croagunk drag its unconscious trainer away from Paul's "casually" outstretched foot.

They also found Paul leaning nonchalantly against the doorway; he quickly looks over at his rival, trying not to be noticed doing so by anyone else, but Ash failed to notice in amidst all the excitement of the moment.

"YOU CAN'T ARREST ME! **I'M UNION**!"

"You have the right to remain silent," Jenny said. "And I strongly suggest you do so."

As Joy sets out to help the trainers and their sick pokemon, Jenny's officers throw the attendant into the back of their patrol wagon. Jenny is about to shut the door when Paul stopped her.

"Not only are you the worst 'Nurse Joy' ever, but Reggie was five times the parent to me then you ever were. You are nothing more than a pathetic drunk, and I want you out of my life – forever! Shut the door," he said turning to walk away. "I'm sick of seeing her."

"Wow, that was harsh," Dawn said.

"Maybe," Ash said. "But sometimes you have to cut your losses, and move on."

"It won't be easy," Brock added. "But in time, he'll heal, and I wish him all the luck in doing so."

"He's come waaay too far to go back to where he was before."

"…And with any luck," Brock said almost wistfully. "He never will again..."


End file.
